Balder Odinson (Earth-11584)
History "I would rather die fighting on some forgotten rock in the Cosmos than waste away here. I would rather stand side by side with my brother then cower in fear of some prophecy. If my fate is to be to die, than father, allow me to die as the man I would be, rather than the man I am now." Born sometime around 956 A.D., Balder Odinson was the second son of Odin Borson and Frigga Fjorgynndottir. Being the younger of Odin's two son's (and only slightly older than Odin's adopted son Loki, though the truth of Loki's parentage was kept from him for most of his life), Balder was second in line to the throne of Asgard. However, destiny seemed to hover over Balder's life for its entirety. Shortly after his birth, sages within the Asgardian court made a prediction known as the Kinslaying, which suggested that a Prince of Asgard would one day be slain by his kin, a telltale sign of Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Asgardian Realm. In order to attempt to avert this prophecy, Balder's mother Frigga cast a spell on her young son, making him nigh on invulnerable to almost all magic and weapons. There were limitations to this spell, as it only worked within the Veil of the Nine Realms, and it gave a loophole to weapons fashioned from mistletoe. These weaknesses, though, were eventually lost to time. Balder grew up as a friend to both of his brothers, and in time became known as a fearsome warrior and commander all his own. Though he did not wield a weapon such as Mjolnir like his brother, Balder's skill as a fighter was never to be underestimated, and he became a close advisor to both his brother and his father. Balder stood by his brother's side when Thor was to be coronated as the new king of Asgard, but an intrusion by wayward Frost Giants ended that. Balder also cautioned his brother against disobeying Odin by going to Jotunheim. He eventually relented, only if he could go with him to try and ensure a peaceful conference. That "peace" lasted only briefly, as the confrontation escalated and a full-scale battle ensued. Balder was wounded by the affair, his powers weaker outside of Asgard than inside, but he was quickly healed upon his return to Asgard by his father. He was not present, however, when Odin banished Thor to Midgard without his powers. Now suddenly thrust into the limelight as the new Crown Prince of Asgard, Balder tried to decipher who had let the Frost Giants into Asgard in the first place. This investigation did not last long, however, as Balder was accused of this same act by Loki, his younger brother. This immediately told Balder of Loki's duplicity, but due to his father being overcome by the Odinsleep, Balder was unable to prove his innocence and was locked up as a precautionary measure. He was later set free when Loki attempted to use the Siege Engine to destroy the realm of Jotunheim, saving a returned Thor from falling into the vortex created by the destroyed Bifrost. Balder saw his brother off when he went back to Midgard to capture Loki and the Tesseract, which Odin had hid there centuries earlier. Balder began to feel concern for his brother and the attention he seemed to be paying Midgard amongst all the realms, but kept most of his feelings to himself. Shortly before the Bifrost's completion, Balder and Thor were sent to confront the imprisoned Loki to ask about the whereabouts of Amora the Enchantress, but were interrupted by the Bifrost's completion and Thor's desire to see his love interest Jane Foster once more. Balder greeted Foster warmly when she returned with Thor to Asgard, seeking a cure to being possessed by the power of the Aether. When the Dark Elves led by Maleketh and Amora attacked Asgard directly, Balder defended Foster to keep the power from them, joined by his father. They were successful, however at the cost of Frigga's life. Overcome by grief, Odin orders Jane locked away to keep Maleketh away from her, until the Aether burned away her body and could be refashioned somehow. Balder held true to this order, but looked the other way when Thor and the Lady Sif decided to disobey and take Jane out of Asgard, using Loki as a guide to escape Odin's notice. Balder then told his father about the actions, and led a grouping of troops into the Dark World of Svartalfheim. There, he found Thor beaten, Loki dead, and the Aether lost to them. Upon their return to Asgard, he stood up to his father (arguably the first time he had openly disagreed with Odin's judgment) and helped convince him to send Thor and Balder together to take out Maleketh on Earth, where the Dark Elf planned to use the power of the Aether to reshape the Nine Realms to his desire. The two confronted the Dark Elf near Greenwich England, where Maleketh was more than a match for their power. However Balder is able, along with Dr. Erik Selvig, to reprogram the Field Bridge technology that Jane Foster invented to backfire when Maleketh tries to use it in accordance with Amora's magical powers, destorying the Dark Elf. Afterwards, Balder accompanied the Lady Sif with the Aether to the home of Taneleer Tivan, storing the substance (which was the Infinity Stone of Reality) there for safekeeping, as the Tesseract was already of Asgard. After this affair, Thor asked to be released from his position as the Crown Prince of Asgard, seeking freedom to be on Earth with Jane. He offered his position to Balder, saying he would be a wiser king than all of them. Balder seemed to flourish in his new role, filled with a confidence he had lacked before, but unbeknownst to him Odin was being impersonated by the previously thought dead Loki. Balder ruled with his "father" for the next several years, not being visited by Thor even as he went on a journey for the remaining Infinity Stones, and unaware of the rising power of Surtur in Muspelheim. When Thor returned to Asgard and exposed Loki, Balder's anger overwhelmed him and he attacked Loki directly. Loki however countered by stabbing him with a spear constructed from mistletoe wood, his one mortal weakness, and seriously wounding him (though not mortally) and potentially triggering the Kinslaying prophecy. Balder recuperated in Asgard, but was eventually forced to travel to the Grandmaster's planet to help Thor escape from there to help in the fight against Surtur. Traveling with Loki, Sif and Beta Ray Bill, Balder fought valiantly but was ultimately struck down by Grandmaster's lieutenant Firelord. Due to being wounded by Loki and thus being significantly weakened (and forced to travel outside the veil of the Nine Realms to save his other brother Thor), the Kinslaying was indirectly fulfilled, signaling the potential beginning of Ragnarok. Powers & Abilities * Nigh Invulnerability: Due to a spell cast upon him by his mother in his youth, Balder was nearly indestructible by most normal magics or weapons. While he could be harmed and (potentially) killed by strong enough force, his inherent endurance made him one of the most durable members of the MCU. This invulnerability does not apply to weapons made from mistletoe, due to the nature of the spell Frigga cast, and ony extends to the Veil of the Nine Realms, and is strongest in Asgard itself. * Asgardian Heritage: Due to his Asgardian nature, Balder had a life span far exceeding that of normal humans. He was the younger brother of Thor, yet had been alive for centuries prior to his untimely demise at the hands of Loki and Firelord. Weaknesses As previously stated, Balder's invulnerability does not apply to any weapons crafted from the wood of mistletoe (or, consequently, dipped in the juice of berries from mistletoe). It also only extends to the Veil of the Nine Realms, suggesting that it is tied into the World Tree Yggdrasil somehow. This is evidenced by his death coming on a world outside the Nine Realms. Film Details Balder appears in the following films within the Earth-11584 continuity of the MCU. In all cases he is portrayed by actor Kit Harrington. * Thor (2011) * Thor: The Dark World (2013) * Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Category:Earth-11584 Category:Earth-11584 Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Asgardian